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THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 



ITS HISTORY, CHARACTERISTIC 
FEATURES, AND THEORIES RE- 
GARDING ITS ORIGIN. :: :: :: 



By GALEN CLARK 

Discoverer of the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. Author of "Indians 

of the Yosemite," "Big Trees of California," and for 

many years Guardian of the Yosemite Valley. 



Illustrated from Photographs 
by George Fiske. 



YOSEMITE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA 

NELSON L. SALTER 
1910 






c^ 



COPYRIGHT, 1910 
ELVIRA M. LEE 



[) 



/\^' 



l^ 



From Press of 
Reflex Publishing Company- 
Re don do Beach, 
California 



€ CI. A. 36815 9 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION AND SKETCH OF THE 

AUTHOR xiii 

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 1 

DISCOVERY AND HISTORY OF YOSEMITE 9 

THEORIES REGARDING ORIGIN 17 

THE AUTHOR'S THEORY 23 

PROMINENT PEAKS AND DOMES 31 

WATERFALLS 47 

MIRROR LAKE GS 

TREES IN YOSEMITE VALLEY 71 

FLOWERING SHRUBS 81 

FLOWERING PLANTS 90 

FERNS 101 

HINTS TO YOSEMITE VISITORS 103 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



EL CAPITAN 3 

VIEW FROM INSPIRATION POINT 7 

OVERHANGING ROCK, GLACIER POINT 11 

YOSEMITE FALLS 15 

NORTH DOME 21 

SENTINEL DOME 25 

THREE BROTHERS 29 

BIRDS-EYE VIEW 33 

SENTINEL ROCK 37 

ROYAL ARCHES, NORTH DOME AND 

WASHINGTON COLUMN 41 

THE HALF DOME 45 

THE BRIDAL VEIL 49 

YOSEMITE FALLS FROM GLACIER POINT 

TRAIL 53 

ICE CONE, UPPER YOSEMITE FALL 57 

VERNAL FALL 61 

NEVADA FALL 65 

MIRROR LAKE AND MT. WATKINS 69 

THE HAPPY ISLES 75 

TVILD AZALEAS 83 

THE CATHEDRAL SPIRES 91 

YOSEMITE VALLEY IN WINTER 99 



YOSEMITE THE MASTERPIECE, 



By W. A. CROFFUT. 

Oh, words, how poor, and vain, and weak, 
When of the masterpiece we speak, 
Of emerald vale and starry peak, 
Thy glories, grand Yosemite! 

What know we of the times remote. 
When on Azoic seas afloat 
Great Nature sailed her granite boat, 
And dreamt about Yosemite? 

What demon thrones were upward hurled. 
What fiery flags were high unfurled 
From bastions of a ruined world. 
Beneath thy gulf, Yosemite, 

When Vulcan, tired of labors tame. 
Lighted his furious forge of flame 
And smote young Terra's molten frame, 
And fashioned wild Yosemite! 

We only know this Titan's home 
Of ribboned fall and purpled dome 
Is crystal of the primal foam 

That bathed thy beach, Yosemite. 

Fair jewel, — gold, and red, and brown, — 
In splendor shining softly down. 
The Kohinoor of Nature's crown — 
Magnificent Yosemite! 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 



INTRODUCTION AND SKETCH 
OF THE AUTHOR. 



LJ UNDREDS of thousands of Yosem- 
ite visitors were grief-stricken a 
few weeks ago when it was announced 
that Galen Clark, the discoverer, in 1857, 
of the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees' 
had "joined the innumerable caravan" 
at the rare old age of ninety-six, and in 
full possession of all his senses and per- 
fect storehouse of mind. 

The writer had known Galen Clark in- 
timately and had met him often for 
forty-odd years, and had deemed him 
one of the most agreeable and entertain- 
ing human beings he had ever met, and, 
altogether, one of the most benignant 
characters. 

Mr. Clark was a New Englander, and 
came to California, via the Isthmus of 
Panama, in 1853, and to the mining 



camps between Sonora and Mariposa the 
year following. He had been carefully 
and healthfully brought up, but the in- 
sidious conditions of the Isthmus, or in 
the mines, had brought on a pulmonary 
disorder of a serious nature, and a 
friendly physician advised him to seek 
an abode among the stately conifers and 
pellucid waterways of the High Sierras. 
In the spring of 1857 he built himself a 
log cabin in the beautiful valley now 
known as Wawona, which for nearly 
twenty years was known as '^ Clark's 
Station," and in a few months discover- 
ed the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias, only 
eight miles distant from his abode. 

Mr. Clark was a member of the first 
Board of Commissioners for the care of 
the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa 
Grove of Big Trees, and was the ' ' Guar- 
dian of the Valley ' ' for many years 
afterward; and for more than half a 
century he had lived in the Valley or at 
Wawona, and became familiar with 



every species of slirub and tree, grass 
and flower, and with the dimensions of 
every elevation and fall of water. He 
won the respect and friendship of all 
with whom he came in contact, including 
the tribes of Indians which then inhabit- 
ed that region and who still remain in 
small and scattered bands as one of the 
interesting features of the Yosemite 
Valley. 

In 1904, when ninety years of age, i\[r. 
dark published a book on the Indians 
of the Yosemite, which was followed in 
1907 by a volume on the Big Trees of 
Oalifornia. These books are written in 
a simple and entertaining style and have 
proven valuable contributions to the lit- 
erature of Western America. They 
have been widely read and are regarded 
as the most authoritative works on the 
subjects of which they treat. So far as 
I know, Mr. Clark's experience has been 
absolutely unique in becoming an author 
at the age of ninety. 



In this, his latest and most pretentious 
book, the manuscript of which he had 
personally handed to his printer less 
than two weeks before being summoned 
to his last account, he succinctly and 
delightfully presents descriptions of all 
the cataracts and waterfalls, spires and 
domes, trees and flowers, islands and 
lakes, rivers and vales, and the multi- 
plicity of other objects which have made 
the Yosemite Valley the masterpiece of 
the scenic world. 

This last publication of Mr. Clark has 
many aims, but its principal object is to 
furnish answers to the numerous ques- 
tions asked by Yosemite visitors, not 
only with regard to the great scenic fea- 
tures of the Valley and the various 
theories which have been advanced to 
account for their origin, but also con- 
cerning the many beautiful and varied 
specimens of tree and plant life. The 
book therefore contains the correct name 
and a brief sketch of each flower, fern^ 



tree, sliriib and grass ; and a description 
of all tlie falls and domes and other ele- 
vations, with their names and altitudes, 
their significance in Indian minds, and 
much else of an interesting aboriginal 
study and belief. It has been the aim 
of the author to avoid infinitesimal de- 
tail and ponderosity; in other words, he 
has omitted nothing that should be pre- 
sented, but has made a book that may 
be carried in almost any pocket and 
drawn upon for reference at any time 
and at any place. It is the gem of books 
on the Yosemite Valley and scintillates 
like a star. 

Very naturally Mr. Clark descants on 
the cause or causes which led to the cre- 
ation of the great gorge, a question 
which has perplexed so many savants 
and other scholarly men of science and 
observation; and while he summarizes 
to some extent the conclusions of Pro- 
fessors Whitney and Le Conte (whose 
deductions are diametrically in conflict 



with each other) he advances a theory 
of his own which more or less harmon- 
izes the views of Whitney, Le Conte, 
Davidson, Muir and other distinguished 
scientists and scholars, and also fits in 
palpably with all physical conditions. 
This may he regarded, I think, as the 
profoundest chapter in the book, and a 
feature that will elicit the admiration of 
all its readers. 

The chapters descriptive of the flow- 
ering shrubs and flowering plants glow 
in all the colors of an Axminster; and 
these many blooms remind one of Mil- 
ton's ''leaves that strew the brooks of 
Vallombrosa." There are more than a 
score of these gorgeous floral inhabitants 
described, and many ferns. Surely, 
these chapters may be veritably termed 
the very ''language of flowers." The 
descriptions of the trees, which embrace 
the yellow, sugar and black pines and 
tamaracks, the Douglas spruce and the 
fir, the cedars and the oaks, the cotton- 



woods and the alder, the maple and the 
laurel, the quaking aspen and some oth- 
ers, are highly instructive and quite as 
bewitching as Emerson's essays on ''the 
woods," which he termed ''God's Tem- 
ples. ' ' 

The author's remains now sleep the 
everlasting sleep under a modest sarco- 
phagus quarried from a fugitive granite 
boulder by his own hands, surrounded 
by trees and flowers, shrubs and vines. 
His was a good and warm and sympa- 
thetic heart, and he was always notably 
gentle and kind, radiant and lovable. 
He was strikingly pure and honest, for 
his word was as good and as unimpeach- 
able as a bond. 

There have been many noble Knights 
of the High Sierras, but Galen Clark 
was one of the noblest of all. 

Ben C. Truman. 

Los Angeles, 

May 2, 1910 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



YOSEMITE VALLEY is nearly in 
^ the center of the State of California, 
and about midway between the western 
base and the summit of the Sierra Ne- 
vada Mountains. 

The floor of the Valley, which is four 
thousand feet above the sea, is nearly a 
level area about seven miles in length 
and with an average width of one mile. 
This floor is nearly a mile in perpendicu- 
lar depth below the general level of the 
adjacent region. 

The top rim of the surrounding walls 
is irregular, culminating in craggy peaks, 
domes and pinnacles, between which it 
is carved into many fantastic forms of 
interesting and gigantic proportions, 
while Nature has been at woyk for thou- 
ands of years adorning and beautifying 
the great barren walls with trees and 



shrubbery, flowering plants and ferns^ 
wherever a root-hold could be obtained 
on every projecting ledge or open crevice 
containing a little moisture. 

The floor of the Valley presents a 
scene of surpassing beauty, with its great 
variety of forest trees, flowering shrub- 
bery, green meadows, wild flowers and 
ferns. 

The Merced River flows its winding 
way from side to side through the length 
of the Valley. The Illilouette and Tenei- 
ya Creeks join the Merced at the ex- 
treme upper end, and the Yosemite, 
Bridal Veil and many other smaller 
streams from both sides, join the river 
lower down, all of them forming water- 
falls and cascades of charming beauty 
in the early part of the season, when at 
their full volume, and many of them 
lasting throughout the summer. 

Prof. J. D. Whitney, in his report as 
State Geologist, says, ''The peculiar 
features of the Valley are, first, the near 




EL CAPITAN 
3,300 feet 



approach to verticality of its walls; 
next, their great height, not only abso- 
lutely, but as compared with the width 
of the Valley itself, and, finally, the very 
small amount of talus at the bottom of 
the gigantic cliffs." 

The late Samuel Bowles of the Spring- 
field, Massachusetts, Republican, who 
was an early visitor to Yosemite on 
horseback by the way of old Inspiration 
Point, in writing home to his paper, says 
of the Valley : 

"As well try to interpret God in 
thirty-nine articles as portray to you by 
word of mouth or pen, as well repro- 
duce castle or cathedral by a stolen 
frieze or broken column, as this assem- 
blage of national wonder and beauty by 
photograph or painting. 

"The overpowering sense of the sub- 
lime, of awful desolation, of transcend- 
ing marvelousness and unexpectedness, 
that swept over us as we reined our 
horses sharply out of green forests and 



stood upon the high jutting rock that 
overlooked this rolling, up-heaving sea 
of granite mountains, holding far down 
its rough top this vale of beauty of 
meadow and grove and river ! Such tide 
of feeling, such stoppage of ordinary 
emotions, comes at rare intervals in any 
life. 

''It was the confrontal of God face to 
face as in great danger, in solemn, sud- 
den death. It was Niagara magnified. 
All that was mortal shrunk back, all that 
was immortal swept to the front and 
bent down in awe. 

''Niagara alone divides honors with it 
in America. Only the whole of Switzer- 
land can surpass it.^' 





VIEW FROM ARTIST'S POINT 

7 



DISCOVERY AND HISTORY OF 
YOSEMITE VALLEY. 



THE Yosemite Valley was discovered 
and made known to the public by 
Major James D. Savage and Capt. John 
Boling, who, with a strong detachment 
of mounted volunteers from what was 
known as the Mariposa Battalion, went 
with friendly Indian guides to the Valley 
in March, 1851, to capture the resident 
tribe of Indians and put them on the 
Fresno Indian Keservation. 

The first improved trail for saddle 
animals to Y^osemite Valley was made 
by a livery firm in Mariposa, the Mann 
Brothers, in 1856. This trail led from 
Mariposa to the A^alley by way of the 
South Fork of the Alerced River, cross- 
ing the stream at a point now known as 
Wawona. 

In 1857 the regular tourist travel to 



Yosemite Valley may be said to have 
conimenced, although a few persons had 
gone there in previous years since its 
discovery. All parties, at that time, 
went prepared with camping outfits. 

The first house in Yosemite was built 
in the fall of the year 1856, and was 
opened the next spring as a saloon for 
the entertainment of that class of visi- 
tors who loved whiskey and gambling. 
The next year it was fitted up and used 
as a restaurant. Several years later it 
was enlarged, and known as Black's 
Hotel. 

The first building erected for a hotel 
was built in 1859, and is now a part of 
the Sentinel Hotel premises, being known 
as the Cedar Cottage. 

Most of the early visitors to Yosemite 
w^ere Calif ornians, and the number did 
not amount to one thousand in any one 
season until the completion of the Union 
Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads. 




OVERHANGING ROCK, GLACIER POINT 

3,250 feet 



Soon after that the number increased to 
many thousands annually. 

All the necessary supplies for the 
hotels and other purposes were taken 
into the Valle}^ by pack mules from 
Coulterville and Mariposa, a distance of 
fifty miles, until the completion of the 
first wagon roads in 1874. 

The main features and great variety of 
Yosemite scenery were early and widely 
made known throughout the civilized 
world by pen, press, and public speech, 
and have been many times portrayed by 
paint brush, camera and kodak; but no 
description, painting or photograph can 
give its vivid, thrilling, overwhelming 
life expression. 

The officers in command of the military 
expedition which discovered Yosemite 
Valley in 1851, in their report to Gover- 
nor McDougal, estimated the height of 
the most prominent parts of the walls 
arouna the valley at from twelve hun- 
dred to fourteen hundred feet. This is 



13 



about the height that most visitors esti- 
mate them as they see them on entering- 
the Valley. When the actual heights 
were ascertained by civil engineers, with 
surveyor's transit, they were found to* 
be more than double the heights esti- 
mated by the unaided eye. 

Jarvis Kiel of Mariposa was the first 
engineer to make some of the actual 
heights known. He was followed by 
Prof. J. D. Whitney, State Geologist, 
witli nis assistant engineers. Still later 
came Capt. Wheeler and Lieut. McComb 
of the United States Engineering De- 
partment. There is very little variation 
in all these reported heights. 




YOSEMITE FALLS 
2,034 feet 



15 



THEORIES IN REGARD TO THE ORIGIN 
OF YOSE]\IITE. 



^'LJ OW was this wonderful valley 
^ * formed!" is a question asked by 
thousands of visitors, and there have 
been three distinct theories advanced by 
different geologists on this subject. 

Prof. J. D. Whitney, in his report as 
State Geologist, says : 

•'The Valley is too wide to have been 
formed by a fissure. Much less can it 
be supposed that the peculiar form of 
Yosemite is due to the erosive action of 
ice. A more absurb theory was never 
advanced than that by which it was 
sought to ascribe to glaciers the sawing 
out of these vertical walls and the round- 
ing of the domes. In short, we are led 
irresistibly to the adoption of a theory 
of the origin of Yosemite in a way 
which has hardly yet been recognized as 



17 



one of those in which valleys may be 
formed, probably for the reason that 
there are so few cases in which such an 
event can be absolutely proved to have 
occurred. 

''We consider that during the process 
of upheaval of the Sierra, or, possibly, 
at some time after that had taken place, 
there was at the Yosemite a subsidence 
of a limited area, marked by lines of 
'fault' or fissures crossing each other 
somewhat nearly at right angles. In 
other and more simple language, the 
bottom of the Valley sunk down to an 
unknown depth owing to the support be- 
ing withdrawn from underi eath during 
some of those convulsive movements 
which must have attended the upheaval 
of so extended and elevated a chain, no 
matter how slow wf^ may imagine the 
process to have been." 

I have been informed that Prof. Silli- 
man and some other noted sreolosists. 



fci' 



who were among the earlv visitors to 



't> 



18 



Yosemite, conceived and advanced the 
theory that the Valley was formed by a 
great subterranean force causing a deep 
rupture in the surface of the earth, 
which in an unknown period of time has 
been filled up to the present floor of the 
Valley. 

The third theory, and perhaps the 
most popular one at the present time, is 
that the origin and general formation of 
the Valley is due to the agency of gla- 
ciers. Clarence King, who was one of 
Prof. J. D. Whitney's topographical en- 
gineers in the survey of Yosemite Valley 
and the adjacent mountain range, was 
the first geologist to advance the opinion 
that Yosemite Valley was formed by 
glacial agency. In later years. Prof. 
Joseph Le Conte and other noted geolo- 
gists, in their many visits to Yosemite 
and explorations in the High Sierras, 
and after examining the old glacial mo- 
raines, terminal, lateral and medial, still 
to be plainly seen on the floor of the Val- 



19 



ley, also the stria and other evidence of 
glacial erosion in many places high np 
on the walls of the Valley, and the gla- 
cial polish still in evidence on the rocks 
above the falls of all the large streams 
entering the Valley, together with the 
extensive areas of polished granite high- 
er up in the range, came to the positive 
conclusion that the Yo Semite Valley was 
formed by the agency of glaciers instead 
of either a local subsidence or a rupture 
of the earth's surface. 



20 




NORTH DOMES 
3,725 feet 



21 



THE AUTHOR'S THEORY. 



F^URING a residence of many years 
^-^ in Yosemite, and a careful observa- 
tion of the structural formation of the 
great walls on each side and the great 
domes in connection therewith, it seems 
evident to me that there were two great 
forces which operated at different per- 
iods of time in the origin and formation 
of Yosemite Valley. 

In some period of the earth's exist- 
ence, while its granite crust in that local- 
ity was in a semi-plastic condition, by 
some great subterranean force of gases 
or superheated steam, its surface was 
forced up in places, forming these great 
dome elevations. In some instances this 
force was sufficient to burst open the 
surface and make a complete blow-out, 
forming a great chasm with vertical 
sides. The bursting open of two or more 



23 



of these great domes seems to have been 
the original agency in the formation of 
Yo Semite Valley. I can imagine no oth- 
er theory to account for the various lines 
of cleavage and fractures in the great 
walls of the Valley, some of them being 
vertical, some horizontal, and others in 
various degrees of inclination and 
curves. 

In later years, during the glacial 
epoch, a portion of the great glaciers 
which covered this part of the moun- 
tain range completed the work by crush- 
ing the remaining rock material, filling 
up to a great extent the deep chasms 
and carrying out the surplus material, 
and at the end of -the great ice age the 
Valley was left a great lake which in the 
course of time was filled up by disinte- 
grated granite brought in by the flood 
waters from the higher mountains ad- 
jacent, leaving the main picturesque 
features of the Valley much as we see 
them now. 



24 




SENTINEL, DOME, 
Showing- concentric rocli formation 



25 



Ever since then Nature has been in- 
dustriously at work growing trees, flow- 
ering shrubs and plants to adorn and 
hide from view, as much as possible, the 
awful desolation left by the melting gla- 
ciers ; and by long exposure to the action 
of the elements for unknown thousands 
of years, to the expansion and contrac- 
tion of countless summers and winters, 
large portions of the surface of the 
walls, which bore evidence of glacial 
erosion, have fallen away, and form the 
great piles of rock at the base of the 
cliffs on each side of the Valley. 

One of Prof. Whitney's great objec- 
tions to the glacial theory of the origin 
of Yosemite Valley was the lack of evi- 
dence of what became of the great 
amount of crushed rock material which 
must have been created in its formation. 
It is evident that most of this material 
must have been carried away in the form 
of glacial mud by the great stream flow- 
ing from under the glacier down through 



27 



the Merced Canyon to the San Joaqnin 
Valley, which undonbtedly at that time 
was a great inland sea, and, when reach- 
ing the slack water of the sea, settled in 
a deposit which in the course of unknown 
years has been hardened into rock, form- 
ing elevated ridges near the Merced 
River, and much of what is called "hard 
pan ' ' beneath the surface soil in the near 
vicinity. 

All the great and smaller canyons of 
the rivers which head in the High 
Sierras, together with the whole western 
face of the Sierra Nevada range of 
mountains, have been forced by glacial 
action to contribute largely in the for- 
mation of the great plains of the Sacra- 
mento and San Joaquin Valleys. The 
dying glaciers have therefore bequeath- 
ed to California a vast empire of agri- 
cultural wealth as well as a crowning 
mountain diadem of unspeakable sub- 
limity and grandeur. 



28 




THREE BROTHERS 
3,830 feet 



29 



PROMINENT PEAKS AND DOMES IN 
YOSEMITE. 



El Capitan. 

AT the entrance to the Valley on the 
north side is El Capitan, a type of 
enduring massiveness, being an enor- 
mous block of solid granite thirty-three 
hundred feet in height, with a smooth 
vertical face of over one hundred and 
sixty acres in superficial area. In one 
place the top edge overhangs the base 
nearly one hundred feet. In a slight 
depression, about one thousand feet 
above the base, there is growing a lone 
pine tree which is by actual measure- 
ment eighty feet in height. 

On another part of the face of El Cap- 
itan is plainly to be seen, in certain con- 
ditions of light, the figure of a man 
facing west, and apparently traveling in 



that direction, clothed in a flowing robe 
and a low crowned hat. The old Indians 
of Yosemite called this figure To-tau- 
kon-nu-la, and held it in supreme rever- 
ence as a great chieftain of their remote 
ancestors. 

On the crowning ridge of El CapitaUy 
thirty- six hundred feet above the Valley, 
there is a juniper tree growing which is 
thirty-four feet in circumference, breast 
high. 

Three Beothees. 

The Three Brothers, thirty-eight hun- 
dred and thirty feet high, are a triple 
group of rocks which rise in steps, one 
back of the other, with a smooth, slant- 

KEY TO BIRDS-EYE VIEW ON OPPOSITE 
PAGE. (Drawing- by Chris. Jorgensen). — 1. Ribbon 
Fall. 2. El Capitan. 3. Three Brothers. 4. Yosem- 
ite Falls. 5. Lost Arrow. 6. Yosemite Point. 7. 
Royal Arches. 8. Washington Column. 9. North 
Dome. 10. Basket Dome. 11. Mt. Watkins. 12. 
Cloud's Rest. 13. Mirror Lake. 14. Half Dome. 
15. Mt. Broderick. 16. Liberty Cap. 17. Little Yo- 
semite. 18. Nevada Fall. 19. Panorama Rock. 20. 
Vernal Fall. 21. Grizzly Peak. 22. Glacier Point. 
23. Union Point. 24. Sentinel Dome. 25. Sentinel 
Rock. 26. Cathedral Spires. 27. Cathedral Rocks.. 
28. Bridal Veil Fall. 29. Leaning Tower. 




BIRDS-EYE \ lEAV 
For key see opposite page 



33 



ing western surface. The extreme top 
of the highest one cannot be seen from 
the point where photographs are usually 
taken, but farther up the Valley it is 
plainly seen, and known as Eagle Peak, 
thirty-nine hundred feet high. 

Three Graces. Cathedral Rocks. 

On the other side of the Valley, oppo- 
site El Capitan, is another great group 
of rocks which, as seen from the west, is 
called the Three Graces. In general ap- 
pearance these rocks resemble the Three 
Brothers. Farther up the Valley this 
same group presents a different appear- 
ance, and is known as the Cathedral 
Eocks. 

Cathedral Spires. 

Closely adjoining the Three Graces, 
but set a little farther back, are the two 
unique and graceful pinnacles called the 
Cathedral Spires. One of these is said 
to be twenty-five hundred and seventy- 



four feet high, the other twenty-six hun- 
dred and seventy-eight feet. 

These spires are isolated cohmms of 
rock standing out from, but connected at 
the base with, the main walls of the Val- 
ley. Two such symmetrical columns, so 
near alike and so near together, like two 
towers of a Gothic cathedral, form a 
very rare and interesting feature in 
mountain scenery. 

Sentinel Rock. 

Further up the Valley, on the same 
side, is an elevated point known as Sen- 
tinel Eock. Its height is thirty-one 
hundred feet. The walls of the Valley 
on each side of it slope back, leaving it 
standing squarely out with a perpendic- 
ular face of nearly two thousand feet, 
below which it descends at a steep angle 
to the floor of the Valley. 

Glacier Point. 

Near the upper end of the Valley is. 



36 




SENTINEL ROCK 

3,100 feet 



the locality known as Glacier Pointy 
thirty-two hundred and fifty feet high. 
From this elevated standpoint we get 
a fine view of all the upper part of the 
Valley and surrounding walls, also Ver- 
nal and Nevada Falls, and a grand and 
extensive panorama of the Sierra Ne- 
vada range. 

Eagle Peak. 

This peak, the tallest one of the Three 
Brothers, is thirty-nine hundred feet 
above the Valley floor. From this point 
we get the finest and most extensive view 
of the Valley, and also a part of the Higli 
Sierras in the distance. 

YosEMiTE Point. 

Yosemite Point, just east of Yosemite 
Falls, is thirty-two hundred and twenty 
feet above the Valley. Here also can be 
obtained a magnificent view of the Val- 
ley far below. 



NoETH Dome. Royal Arches. 
Washington Column. 

The North Dome, thirty-seven hundred 
and twenty-five feet high, is a great 
rounded mass of granite made up of 
huge concentric plates of rock overlap- 
ping each other. 

Lower down on the face of the wall, 
where the edges have been broken off 
and carried away, these concentric plates 
form the great Royal Arches. These 
Arches show very plainly the concentric 
structure of the dome, the top of which 
is only accessible from the rear side. 

Adjoining the Royal Arches is a fine 
shaft of granite known as the Washing- 
ton Column. 

The Half Dome. 

The Half Dome, on the opposite side, 
facing Teneiya Canyon, is lave thousand 
feet in height above the Valley, and is 
the loftiest mass of rock of those con- 
sidered as a part of the Yosemite. 



40 




ROYAL ARCHES, NORTH DOME AND 
^VASHINGTON COLUMN 



On the side fronting Teneiya Canyon 
it is absolutely vertical for nearly two 
thousand feet from the summit and then 
falls off in a steep incline to the bottom 
of the canyon. 

On the opposite side the Half Dome 
has a rounded form at the top, and grows 
more and more steep to the bottom. 

The whole appearance of this great 
mass of rock is that of an originally 
dome-shaped elevation with a very steep 
curve, of which a great part of the west- 
ern half has been split off. This evi- 
dently took place while Teneiya Canyon 
was still occupied by the remains of the 
great glacier which at an earlier period 
filled it. This debris, falling upon the 
glacier, was carried a little further down 
and dropped when the glacier melted. 

In the fall of the year 1876, George 
Anderson, then a resident of Yosemite, 
worked his way up to the top of the Half 
Dome with drills, iron eyebolts and 



43 



ropes, and was the first man to stand 
upon its lofty summit. 

There is an area of many acres which 
can be safely traveled over on tlie top, 
and in many places, where soil has ac- 
cnmnlated from the disintegrated gran- 
ite, there are flowering plants and some 
small trees. 

From the top of the vertical side front- 
ing Teneiya Canyon there is a great open 
crack extending back into the Dome 
nearly one hundred feet. In dropping a 
small pebble into this crack it can be 
heard rattling down a long distance. 
This great fracture in the rock was un- 
doubtedly made at the time the western 
part of the dome was split off. This 
great cataclysm I think must have been 
caused by some tremendous subterran- 
ean force upheaving this part of the 
earth's surface. 



44 




THE HALF DOME 
5,000 feel 



-WATEr.FALLS IN YOSEMITE VALLEY. 



Bridal Veil Fall. 

q^HE Bridal Veil Fall, on the south 
* side of the entrance to the Valley, 
is nine hundred feet in height, and is 
formed by a creek of the same name, 
which has its source about fifteen miles 
to the south in a series of meadows gen- 
erally known as the Bridal Veil Mead- 
ows. 

This waterfall is certainly one of the 
most interesting objects in Yosemite 
when seen about five o'clock in the 
afternoon, in the clear sunshine, illum- 
inated by magnificent rainbows. 

The upper part of the fall is a perpen- 
dicular descent of six hundred feet. It 
then descends in rapids three hundred 
feet to the level of the Valley. 

It has its most charming and fascinat- 



47 



ing effect when at about two-thirds of its. 
early spring vokime, and when swayed 
back and forth by the wind, which con- 
stantly changes its appearance, there 
being no two minntes in succession when 
it looks the same. Late in the season it 
becomes a very small stream. 

Ribbon ok Virgin ^s Tears Fall. 

The Ribbon or Virgin's Tears Fall is 
thirty-three hundred feet in height and 
is situated on the opposite side of the 
Valley from the Bridal Veil. 

In the early part of the season it is a 
very wonderful and interesting water- 
fall, coining down in a deep recess in the- 
face of the wall twenty-three hundred 
feet perpendicular to the great pile of 
talus, then one thousand feet in rapids 
till it nears its junction with the Merced 
River. 

This waterfall is almost entirely over- 
looked, or at least little noticed by most 
visitors, on account of the far superior 



48 




THE BRIDAL VEIL, 

900 feet 



49 



and more beautiful appearance of the 
Bridal Veil Fall directly opposite. 

YosEMiTE Falls. 

The Yosemite Falls, about midway up 
the Valley on the north side, are perhaps 
in the early part of the season one of 
the most conspicuous and interesting 
features of Yosemite, being in plain view 
from the hotel, public camps, and busi- 
ness center of the Valley. 

They are formed by the Yosemite 
Creek, which rises on the northwest side 
of the Mount Hoffman group about fif- 
teen miles northeast of the Valley. Be- 
ing fed entirely by the melting snow, its 
volume varies greatly at different times 
and seasons. 

The Falls are in three distinct parts. 
The lip or edge of the Upper Fall is in 
round numbers twenty-six hundred feet 
above the Valley, this lip or edge, 
througn centuries of erosion, has become 
a narrow circular depression in the 



51 



smooth polished granite over which the 
rushing water plunges in a perpendic- 
ular descent of sixteen hundred feet, 
striking on a solid ledge of granite about 
one-fourth of a mile back from the lower 
portion of the cliff. From nere the wide 
spreading stream converges into a nar- 
row gorge and plunges in a series of 
cascades down a descent equal to six 
hundred feet perpendicular until it 
reaches the top of the Lower Fall, where 
it makes a final plunge of four hundred 
feet to the base of the vertical precipice 
near tne level of the Valley floor. All 
this can be plainly seen from the Glacier 
Point trail at Union Point, on the oppo- 
site side of the Valley. 

The width of the stream at the top of 
the Upper Fall, at a medium stage of 
water, is about thirty feet, with a depth 
of two feet. This widens out towards 
the bottom to over two hundred feet. 

One of the most striking features of 
this Fall is its swaying motion from one 



52 





YOSEMITE FALLS FROM GLACIER POINT 
TRAIL — Two miles distant 



53 



side to the other under the varying pres- 
sure of the wind, which acts with great 
force on so long a column. 

Water in motion does not run in a 
steady even current, but flows in a series 
of waves. This is plainly to be seen in 
the Upper Yosemite Fall, and, as each 
successive wave descends, its crest sepa- 
rates into small streams which soon van- 
ish in spray. These small streams are 
commonly called water-rockets. These 
two peculiar and very* interesting fea- 
tures — the swaying and wave motions 
in the Upper Yosemite and Bridal Veil 
Falls — are not seen in any of the other 
falls of less altitude. 

In the early part of the season, when 
the snow on the mountains in the near 
vicinity of the Valley is melting rapidly, 
the volume of water in the Upper Yosem- 
ite Fall is so great and heav^^ that it 
jars the ground a mile distant, frequent- 
ly coming down with such force and 



55 



weight as to make a report like distant 
artillery. 

Back of the bottom of tliis fall there is 
quite a large cave, which has probably 
been made by the eroding action of ice 
in the winter, and it may be possible that 
the great mass of water, when it strikes 
the solid ledge in front, causes a concus- 
sion of the air in this cave which aids 
in malting these loud reports. 

During the winter season a large 
amount of ice accumulates at the foot of 
the Upper Yosemite Fall. In the cold 
freezing nights large sheets of ice and 
great icicles are formed on the face of 
the vertical walls on each side of the fall- 
ing water. When the sun shines bright 
and clear in the day time these great 
masses of ice loosen and fall to the bot- 
tom. The spray is also constantly fall- 
ing in hail and snow, which forms a 

NOTE. — The photograph on page 57 shows an ice 
cone five hundred and fifty feet high at the foot of 
Upper Yosemite Falls. The two small figures on 
the left-hand side are George Anderson and Galen 
Clark. 



56 




ICE CO\E, UPPER YOSEMITE FALL, 
530 feet high 



57 



great cone-shaped mound. Dnring some 
winters this mound grows to be more 
than five hundred feet high, and the 
great cave at the base of the fall is 
pressed solidly full of ice. 

Wonderful ice formations are seen at 
the base of all the falls in winter. 

Sentinel Fall. 

Sentinel Fall, thirty-two hundred and 
seventy feet high, is formed by a small 
stream known as Sentinel Creek, which 
has its source in the Pot Hole Meadows 
about four miles distant on the south 
side of the Valley. This fall comes 
down in a succession of steep cascades 
very fine in the early spring, but it is 
usually dry by the latter part of July. 

EoYAL Aech Fall. 

The Eo3"al Arch Fall has a descent of 
two thousand feet down a steep incline 
on the face of the wall at the western 
edge of the Royal Arches. It is a fine 



waterfall earl}^ in the season, ])ut is 
short lived, generally becoming drv in 
July. 

Illilouette Fall. 

The Illilouette Fall is located between 
Glacier Point and the Vernal Fall, at 
the entrance to the upper canyon of the 
Merced Eiver, above the level of the 
Valley. It is seen from the trail going 
to the Vernal and Nevada Falls, and can 
also be seen, from above, on the trail 
from Nevada Fall to Glacier Point, 
which passes close to the top of the 
Illilouette Fall. 

This waterfall never gets entirely dry. 
It is formed by the Illilouette Creek, 
which has its source in the Merced group 
of mountains, a lower part of the High 
Sierras. 

Vernal Fall. 

The Vernal Fall is three hundred and 
fifty feet high, and is one hundred feet 
wide at the top during the full flood vol- 




VERNAI. FALL, 

350 feet 



61 



Time, in the early part of the season. It 
is formed by the main Merced Elver. 

This is one of the most perfect per- 
pendicular water falls in Yosemite. On 
the south side, at the top, there is a huge 
slab of granite rock which forms a para- 
pet nearly breast high, over which one 
may Iook down the face of the fall and 
the rapids below. From below we get 
the finest view from Lady Franklin 
Eock, and this view is the most interest- 
ing at a medium stage of wa-ter. A foot 
trail leads up from Lady Franklin Eock 
to the top of Vernal Fall. During the 
liours of sunshine in this locality, when 
passing through the dense spray near 
the foot of the fall, a perfect circular 
rainbow can be seen. 

Above the Vernal Fall is the Emerald 
Pool, deep and placid, where the rushing 
river seems to stop for a moment of 
quiet rest before making its graceful 
plunge over the perpendicular cliff on 



63 



its rapid course past the Happy Isles 
to tlie vale of beauty below. 

Next above the Emerald Pool is the 
Silver Apron, a broad white sheet of 
water swiftly gliding down the smooth 
surface of the inclined bed rock at a 
speed of nearly a mile a minute when the 
river is at its full spring flow. 

Then come the Diamond Cascades, 
just Delow the trail bridge, where the 
whole river bursts with terrific force 
into scattered fragments from the outlet 
of the narrow deep smooth granite flume. 
The river rapids extend above this to 
the foot of Nevada Fall, forming a rare 
combination of wonderfully picturesque 
river scenery. 

Nevada Fall. 

The Nevada Fall is nearly one mile 
higher up the Merced Eiver than the 
Vernal Fall, and is six hundred feet 
high. Near the top of the fall there is 
a projecting ledge of rock which thrown 




NEVADA FALili 

600 feet 



65 



a part of the stream off a little to one 
side with a peculiar twist which adds 
considerably to its general effect. Be- 
low this the face of the wall is not quite 
perpendicular, but at a full stage of 
water this is scarcely noticed, as the 
great volume of water is forced so far 
out at the top that the front face of the 
fall is nearly perpendicular. Late in the 
summer, when the river is at its lowest 
stage, the whole stream of water glides 
down the broad smooth face of the wall 
in a never ending series of most exquis- 
ite long lace waves, forming the most 
fascinating object of beauty of its kind 
to be seen in Yosemite. 



MIRROR LAKE. 



'T^HIS small sheet of water is not in tlie 
* Valley proper. It is located at the 
entrance of Teneiya Canyon at the base 
of the great Half Dome. When seen in 
the morning before the sun rises it is an 
enchanting little lake environed by grand 
mountain scenery, all of which is seen 
mirrored in its apparently unfathomable 
depths. 

One of the most interesting scenes 
is a mirror view of the sunrise from 
beliind the Half Dome or adjacent 
cliff. At first a small portion of 
the sun's disk is seen as a bright star. 
In a moment it enlarges too bright to 
look at.- By moving a few steps into a 
place of shadow the experience can be 
repeatea, and by several changes of this 
kina many sunrises may be seen in a 
few minutes any fair morning. 




MIRROR LAKE AlVD MT. W ATKINS 



TREES IN Y0SE:\IITE VALLEY. 



Cone-Beaeees. 
Dines. — The leaves of pines are needle 
*■ shaped, enclosed in a sheath at their 
junction with the branch, and vary in 
numbers and length in different varie- 
ties. 

Yellow Pine {Pinus ponder osa) — The 
leaves of this variety grow in clusters of 
three, and are dark green in color and 
average about six inches in length in full 
grown trees. On young thrifty trees 
they are two or more inches longer. 
Cones, when mature, l)ef ore the scales en- 
closing the seeds dry and open, are about 
three inches in length and one inch in 
diameter. 

This pine is often found two hundred 
feet in height and eight to ten feet in 
diameter, the average height of mature 
trees being about one hundred and sev- 



enty-five feet with a diameter of six or 
seven feet. 

Black Pine (Pinus Jeffreyi) — Only a 
few trees of this variety of pines are 
found in Yosemite. Its natural habitat 
is at a higher altitude. It is said to be 
a variety of the Ponderosa. Its leaves 
are in clusters of three, about six inches 
long, of a light green color with a bright 
silvery sheen. The cones are about five 
inches in length and three inches in di- 
ameter. The body and height of full 
grown trees are not quite equal to the 
Ponderosa. 

Sugar Pine {Pinus Lambertiana) — 
This is a variety of the White Pine. Its 
leaves grow in clusters of five, about 
three inches long and lightish green in 
color. The cones are the longest of any 
of the pine-tree family, but vary very 
much in length on different trees and at 
different altitudes. The average length 
is about sixteen inches, but in manv in- 



stances they are found over twenty 
inches long. This tree gets the name of 
Sugar Pine from the fact that where the 
trees are burned deep into the heart a 
moist substance exudes and dries in 
white globules of a sweet taste, much 
like sugar. The Sugar Pine grows to 
about the same diameter and height as 
the Ponderosa. It is considered the 
most valuable lumber tree in California. 
There are but few of them growing in 
Yosemite Valley. 

Tamarack Pine {Pinus Murray ana) — 
The natural habitat of this pine is at a 
much higher altitude than Yosemite, but 
there are a few growing in the Valley 
started from seeds brought down by 
flood waters. This pine has only two 
leaves about two inches long, in a fas- 
cicle. The cones are not much larger 
than a lady's thimble. The bark is very 
thin, which renders the tree easily killed 
by fire. It is not a good tree for lumber. 



73 



Douglas Spkuce {Pseudotsuga Doug- 
lasii) — This tree is found quite plentiful- 
ly in some parts of Yosemite. Its small 
narrow leaves, about one inch in length, 
are attached to the slender twigs in ir- 
regular order. The cones are about two 
inches long, with bracts exserted beyond 
the scales. This tree grows to a large 
size, six or seven feet in diameter and 
one hundred and fifty feet in height. It 
is considered one of the best of timber 
trees, on account of standing well the 
extreme conditions of wet and dry ex- 
posure. 

White Fie {Ahies concolar) — This is 
the only variety of fir growing in Yosem- 
ite Valley. It grows to a large size- 
five and six feet in diameter and over 
one hundred feet high. The small, nar- 
row leaves, a little over an inch in length 
and light green in color, grow in regular 
close rows on each side of the slender 
branches. The cones are about three 



74 




THE HAPPY ISLES 
3Ierc'e«l River 



75 



inches long and about one inch in diam- 
eter. The scales are not persistent like 
those of the pines and spruces; when 
fully ripe they fall to pieces. 

White Cedak (Libocedrus decurrens) 
— This tree grows to a large size in 
Yosemite. It is found, in many in- 
stances, seven and eight feet in diameter 
and one hundred and fifty feet high. It 
does not have a regular cone. The seed 
vessel is small, about an inch in length 
and half an inch in diameter, with a scale 
on each side of a septum. Under each 
scale two seeds are matured with a per- 
manent wing appendage. When the 
seeds are ripe the scales dry and open, 
and the seeds are scattered broadcast by 
the winds. The young trees very much 
resemble the Arbor Vita. 

Oaks. 

Black OAK{Quercus Kelloggii) — This 
tree is very common in Yosemite. Its 
wide-spreading branches and dome- 



77 



shaped top makes it a very conspicuous 
and ornamental part of the forest scen- 
ery. In the fall of the year its abundant 
green foliage turns to an orange color, 
adding much to the charm of the autum- 
nal landscape. The acorns are highly 
prized ])y the Indians, who grind them 
into meal from which they make bread. 
Before using this meal it is put through 
a leaching process, which takes out all 
the bitter astringent quality. 

Live Oak. (Quercus chrysolepis) — 
This oak grows around the borders of 
the Valley among the fallen rocks at the 
base of the walls. The wood, when well 
seasoned, is the hardest of any tree in 
California. 

Othek Trees. 

Cottonwood (Populus Balsamiffera) 
— This tree grows on the banks of 
streams and borders of marshy mead- 
ows. It is not a true cottonwood, but 
gets its common name from the fine 



78 



white material, like cotton, which is shed 
from the seed pods when ripe. This, 
falling on the ground, gives the appear- 
ance of a recent small snow storm. The 
buds are viscid and aromatic in odor 
and are said to be medicinal in quality. 

Alder (Ahius viridis) — This tree 
grows on the banks of the streams and 
in wet localities. In some instances it 
is found a good sized tree nearly two 
feet in diameter and fifty feet high. 

Maple {Acer macrophyllum) — This is 
the only variety of maple found down 
near the floor of the Valley. It grows 
among the rocks at the base of the great 
walls. It never grows to a very large tree 
in Yosemite, the largest being only about 
one foot in diameter and forty feet high. 
It is remarkable for its large leaves, 
which in many instances are six inches 
or more wide. In the autumn its bright 
lemon-colored foliage makes it very con- 
spicuous. 



79 



Quaking Aspen (Populus tyemuloicles) 
— This variety of poplar gets its name 
from the constant trembling of its leaves, 
which move with the slightest impulse 
from the air. It is a small tree in 
Yo Semite. Its native habitat is at a 
higher altitude. 

California Laueel (Tetr anther a Cal- 
ifornica) — This variety of the California 
Laurel does not often grow to be a large 
tree in Yo Semite. It is more like a large 
shrub than a tree. Its leaves are of a 
bright glossy green in color and when 
crushed emit a strong, pungent odor 
quite similar to that of bay rum. The 
leaves are often used to protect woolen 
goods from the ravages of moths. 



80 



FLOAYERING SHRUBS IN YOSEMITE. 



r^oGwooD (Conius Nuttallii) — Only a 
*-^ few of the most common and attrac- 
tive shrubs will here be mentioned. One 
of these is the dogwood. In the month of 
May, with its large, white, showy flowers 
three inches in diameter, it is a pleasing 
sight never to be forgotten. Later on, 
in October, its brilliant colored leaves 
are even more attractive than its flowers. 

Azalea {Azalea Occident alls) — This 
beantiful flowering shrub is very abund- 
ant along the banks of the Merced River 
and other streams and slough borders in 
Yosemite. It begins to open its white, 
fragrant blooms early in June, closely 
following the dogwood's decaying flow- 
ers. In some cold, shady places it may 
be found in bloom until late in July. 
The flowers are generally white, with a 



81 



yellow l)lotcli on one of the lobes. In 
some rare instances the flowers have a 
very pretty pink tinge. 

Manzanita {Ayctostaphylos glauca) — 
This variety of the Manzanita (Spanish 
for "Little Apple") with its dark red 
bark and great nnmber of ridged, crook- 
ed branches forming a symmetrical 
ronnded top, is the most attractive and 
beantifnl shrnb in Yo Semite. It pre- 
sents the cnrious anomal}^ of liaving an 
evergreen foliage and a deciduons bark, 
the old bark exfoliating every snmmer 
when the new bark is formed l)eneath. 
This is green in color at first, bnt soon 
changes to dark red on exposure to the 
atmosphere and sunlight. This l)ark is 
as thin as fine paper. The jNIanzanita 
blossoms in the early spring. The flow- 
ers are small, white, fragrant, waxen 
bells in small clusters, in some instances 
slightly tinged with pale pink. The 
fruit is a small berry, and when ripe is 



82 




WILD AZALEAS 



of a red color and has the taste or flavor 
of dried apples. The Indians make 
great use of it as an edible berry, and 
also make an excellent sweetish cider by 
crashing the berries and leaching water 
through the mass in one of their strainer 
baskets. 

California Lilac {Ceanothus integer- 
rimtis) — This variety of the California 
Lilac is quite numerous along the rocky 
borders of Yosemite Valley. Its 
branches are of a green color. Its flow- 
ers are white, in dense oblong clusters 
from two to three inches in length. They 
are very fragrant, with the strong odor 
of wintergreen. The young growth of 
the branches also has the strong flavor 
of wintergreen or black birch. There m 
another variety of the Ceanothus grow- 
ing in the sandy part of the Valley, near 
the cemetery, with pale blue flowers. 

Spice Bush or Saveet-Scented Shrub 
{Calycanthiis occidentalis) — This is an- 



85 



other one of the beautiful shrubs in 
Yosemite. It grows in rather wet, 
rocky places. The flowers are of a dark 
red or wine color, having a spicy, fra- 
grant odor. This shrub is not found 
very plentifully around the Valley floor, 
the altitude being a little above its favor- 
ite habitat. 

Wild Syeinga {Philadelphus) — This, 
with its dense masses of pure white 
flowers, forms another of the attractive 
flowering shrubs in Yosemite. It resem- 
bles very much the cultivated syringa. 

Wild Rose (Rosa hlanda) — This vari- 
ety is quite plentiful in Yosemite. The 
bushes are three or four feet high, well 
armed with sharp, curved thorns. Its 
flowers are of a pink color, and very 
fragrant. 

Elder {Samhucus glauca) — This vari- 
ety is very common in Yosemite. The 
stems are from six to eight feet high. 
Its flowers are white, in large flat-top 



clusters. Its fruit is a small, dark- 
colored berry covered with a light-col- 
ored bloom. These berries are tart in 
flavor and make fine jellies. They are 
a great favorite with the Indians. 

Choke Cherries {Prumis demissa) — 
This is a very common shrub in the Val- 
ley. It grows from six to ten feet high. 
The flowers are white, in dense clusters 
two to three inches long, emitting a 
strong and not unpleasant odor. The 
fruit is dark red in color, and very as- 
tringent until dead ripe. The Indians 
gather all they can get of them. 

Thimble Berry (Ruhus Nutkanus) — 
This is a variety of the raspberry. It 
is generally a low shrub, about three feet 
high, with large broad leaves. Its flow- 
ers are white, an inch in diameter. Its 
fruit is red and juicy, with a slightly 
acid, pleasant taste. 

Willow — Willows are very numerous 
in Yosemite, along the banks of the Mer- 



87 



ced Eiver and smaller streams, and in 
the marshy meadows. Their beautiful 
white silky catkins, as they emerge 
from their winter wrappings, are always 
a joyful sight as the heralds of the com- 
ing spring, proclaiming the resurrection 
to renewed life of all Nature's most 
charming features. 

Wild Coffee {Rhamnus Calif ornica) 
— This is a very common shrub in Yo- 
semite. It is from six to eight feet high. 
It gets its name of Wild Coffee from the 
fact that the two seeds in the berry very 
much resemble the coffee bean, but that 
is as far as any resemblance goes. Upon 
careful analysis it is found to have none 
of the qualities of coffee. Its flowers are 
very small and inconspicuous, but the 
bark contains valuable medicinal quali- 
ties. For this reason it was called by 
the Mission Fathers Cascara Sagrada — 
the sacred bark. An extract from the 
bark is the most valuable laxative known. 



88 



Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon California 
cum) — This shrub is about three feet 
high. Its flowers are purple. Its leaves 
are thick and ghitinous, of a bitter aro- 
matic taste, and are highly prized by the 
native Indians as a remedy for rheuma- 
tism, colds and fever. 

Service B^rhy {Am elanchier alnifolia) 
— This in Yosemite is a slender shrub 
three to six feet high. Its flowers are 
white. Its fruit is a berry nearly black, 
sweet and juicy, and highly prized by the 
Indians. 



FLOWERING PLANTS IN YOSEMITE. 



npHERE are said to be over one Imn- 
* dred different kinds of flowering 
plants in Yosemite. Only a very few of 
them will be here mentioned, and, as the 
author is not a botanist, no attempt will 
be made to give a minute botanical anal- 
ysis. 

Persons visiting Yosemite who wish 
to study the flowers there, should pro- 
vide themselves with Mary Elizabeth 
Parsons' illustrated book on ''Wild 
Flowers of California." It is one of 
the best books of the kind published for 
beginners in the study of flowers. 

Black-Eyed Susan (Hellenium grand- 
ifolia) — This, with its numerous showy 
yellow flowers, is very abundant along 
the lowlands of the streams and marshy 
meadows. 



90 




THE CATHEDRAL. SPIRES 
2,678 feet 



91 



Shooting Stars or Wild Cyclamen 
(Dodecatheon Meaclia) — This is a very 
early spring flower growing in wet 
ground. Its stems are a foot or more 
high. Tliese flowers are peculiar in ap- 
pearance, are of varying color, and very 
beautiful. 

Small Tiger Lily or Alpine Lily 
{Lilium parvum) — This lily grows in 
rich, moist soil and wet meadows. Its 
rich green leaves are in a succession of 
whorls up the stem, which is sometimes 
six feet high and crowned with a head 
of numerous small orange-colored flow- 
ers. It blooms during the months of 
July and August. 

Rein Orchis (H eh enaria leucostachys) 
— This is found in the wet meadows, two 
to three feet high. Its flowers are pure 
white, in a long dense spike. It blooms 
late in the summer. 

Yellow Pond Lily {Niophar Advena) 
— The only place in Yosemite where this 



lily is found is in a little pond a short 
distance from the Sentinel Hotel, on the 
opposite side of the river. In the higher 
range of mountains it is found in many 
small shallow ponds. 

The Evening Primrose {Enothera hi- 
ennis) — This is very common in Yosem- 
ite, growing from two to three feet high, 
terminating in a long slender head with 
a series of upright buds in various stages 
of development. It begins blooming at 
its base about sunset, one or more buds 
bursting from their close wraps and de- 
veloping within about fiYe minutes into 
large yellow flowers, which wither next 
day and are followed by new ones every 
evening. 

Pussy's Paws (Spraguea umbellata)— 
This grows in sandy soil. It flowers in 
dense spikes of a rose color, growing in 
a bunch much resembling a kitten's foot, 
hence the name "pussy's paws." 

Lupines {Lupinus hicolor) — Lupines- 



are very abundant in Yo Semite, growing 
in sandy soil. i\ early all of them have 
bi-colored flowers — blue and white. 

Indian Paint Brush {Castilleia lati- 
/o?m)— This plant, with its elongated 
bright scarlet head, is very conspicuous 
among its vivid green surroundings. It 
blooms in June. 

CoLLiNsiA {CoUinsia tinctoria) — The 
Collinsia, with its delicate showy white- 
and-purple blossoms arranged in many 
storiea rings, grows in the dense shade 
of the great black oaks in Yosemite. 
When picking the flowers the sap of the 
stem stains the fingers a brown color. 

GoDETiA {Godetia amoena) — In early 
summer this plant, with its delicate dark 
pink flowers blotched with bright crim- 
son, is one of the most beautiful and 
showy flowers in Yosemite. The flowers 
€lose up at night and open the next day. 
It is sometimes known as "Farewell to 
Spring. ' ' 



Yakrow {Achillea millefoVuDu)- — The 
yarrow is very common in Yo Semite, but 
its white flowers, in a dense flat cluster, 
are seldom honored b}" a place in a choice 
bouquet. It was formerly in high repute 
for its varied medicinal qualities. 

Great Willow Herb {EpUohiiim spi- 
catum) — This grows very luxuriantly in 
some parts of the Valley, being from 
four to seven feet high, terminating in a 
great spike of very showy pink flowers 
which commence blooming late in July. 
Its roots are said to contain valuable 
medicinal qualities of a tonic character. 

Coreopsis — A variety of wild coreop- 
sis is seen in all parts of Yosemite Val- 
ley, from one to three feet high. It has 
bright yellow flowers, which partly close 
at night, opening out early the next 
morning, and seem to turn their bright 
faces towards the sun throughout the 
day, apparently being devout sun wor- 
shipers. 



96 • 



Snow Plant {Sarcodes sanguinea) — 
This blood-red and brilliantl}^ attractive 
plant is met with in a few localities in 
Yosemite. The stont succulent stem, 
covere.. with waxlike, bell-shaped flow- 
ers,, and delicate, semi-transparent, slen- 
der leaves that intertwine among the 
bells, all being blood red, makes it the 
most conspicuous and beautiful flower in 
the Sierras. It is met with on all the 
routes to Yosemite and the Big Trees. 
The name it bears might give the im- 
pression that it grew in the Sierra snows, 
but this is not the case. It never shows 
its red crown until several daj^s after the 
winter snow has melted away. Some- 
times, however, a snow storm may come 
in the spring after it is up in full bloom. 
It is thought by some botanists to be a 
parasitic plant, they claiming that it only 
grows on the decaying roots of some 
coniferous trees. This has been well 
proved to be untrue. 



97 



Other Flo weeing Plants — Golden 
Kod (Solidago Californica), Blue Lark- 
spur {Delphinium), Columbine {Aquile- 
gia truncata), Golden Star (Bloomeria 
aurea), Blue Milla {Brodiaea laxa), blue 
and other varieties of the Penstemon, 
blue, yellow and white violets, and many 
other very beautiful flowering plants, are 
well represented in Yosemite. The open 
"expanse of green grassy meadows, be- 
spangled with a multitude of bright col- 
ored flowers, is a most charming feature 
of the landscape. 




YO SEMITE A ALLEY IN WINTER 



99 



FERNS IN YOSEMITE. 



THE many kinds of ferns, large and 
small, to be found on the floor of the 
Valley, and on the rocky talus at the base 
of the great walls that surround it, form 
one of the minor charms of Yosemite. 

The Common Brake {Pteris aqiiiUna) 
— This is found in all parts of the floor 
of the Valley and in some localities it 
attains a height of four feet, with broad 
spreading fronds. 

WooDWAEDiA Eadicans — Tliis beautiful 
large fern is found in wet rocky places. 

Maidenhair (Adiantiim pedatum) — 
This grows at the base of the great 
waterfalls, and wet shady cavities and 
clefts in the rocks at the base of the 
walls. 

Other Varieties^ — Pelloea densa, Pel- 
loea Bridgesii, Pelloea macronata, Chei- 



101 



lantlms gyacillima, Cystopteris Fragilis, 
the gold-back Gymnogram^ne Triangu- 
laris, the moss-back Woodsia Scopulina, 
and several varieties of the shield fern, 
are found among the rocks at the base of 
the surrounding walls. There are many 
other beautiful ferns whose names I have 
never learned. 



102 



HINTS TO YOSEMITE VISITORS. 



THE following paragraphs, contain- 
ing information and suggestions 
likely to be of value to tourists in Yosem- 
ite, are re-printed, with some additions, 
from the author's book on ^'The Indians 
of the Yosemite,'' published in 1904: 

Secure stage seats in advance. 

Take only hand baggage, unless for a 
protracted visit. For a short trip, an 
outing suit and two or three waists, with 
a change for evening wear, will be found 
sufficient. The free baggage allowance 
on the stage lines is fifty pounds. 

Men will find flannel or negligee shirts 
the most comfortable. 

In April, May and June wear warm 
clothing and take heavy wraps. In July, 
August and September wear medium 
clothing, with light wraps. In October 



103 



and November wear warm clothing, with 
heavy wraps. The nights are cool at all 
seasons. 

Dusters are always advisable, and 
ladies should provide some light head 
covering to protect the hair from dust. 
Sun bonnets are frequently worn. 

Short skirts are most convenient. 

Divided skirts are proper for trail 
trips, as ladies are required to ride 
astriae. Heavy denim for skirts and 
bloomers is very satisfactory. Such 
skirts can be hired in the Valley. 

Waists of soft material and neutral 
shades are appropriate. Avoid wliite. 

Something absolutely soft for neck- 
wear will be found a great comfort, both 
by men and women. 

Leggings, stout comfortable shoes and 
heavy, loose gloves, will be found very 
serviceable. 

A soft felt hat is preferable to straw. 
One that will shade the eves is best. A 



104 



cloth traveling cap is the worst thing to 
wear. 

Smoked glasses will sometimes save 
the wearer a headache. 

Except in March, April, May, Novem- 
ber and December, an umbrella is apt to 
be a useless encumbrance. 

If the skin is sensitive, and one wishes 
to avoid painful sunburn, the use of a 
IDure cream and soft cloth is preferable 
to water, and far more efficacious. 

A week is the shortest time that sliould 
be allowed for a trip to Yosemite. Two 
weeks are better. The grandeur of the 
Valley cannot be fully appreciated in a 
few days. 

On walking trips, let the clothing be 
so loose as not to be binding on any part 
of the body. A light strong staff four 
or five feet in length will be of much 
service both in going up and down the 
trails. 

In starting on the up-grade don't 



105 



hurry ; go slowly ; stop often for a min- 
ute or two. 

Don't talk while walking; keep your 
mouth shut, and breathe through your 
nose. Talk all you wish while stopping 
for a short rest. 

Your lungs will soon get into a more 
expansive condition and you can increase 
the distance between resting spells, and 
will arrive at your destination in good 
condition to enjoy the magnificent views. 

Those not accustomed to staging or 
mountain climbing should make some 
allowance in their itineraries for rest. 
Many visitors spoil their pleasure by 
getting too tired. 

Take a little more money than you 
think will be needed. You may want to 
prolong your stay. 

Hunting, or the possession of fire- 
arms, is not permitted in the Yosemite 
National Park. Fishing is allowed, and 
in June and July an expert angler is 



105 



likely to be well rewarded. Eods and 
tackle may be hired in the Valley. 

There is no hardship, risk or danger 
in any part of the Yosemite trip. Many 
old people and children visit the Valley 
without difficulty. 

A knowledge of horsemanship is not 
needed for going on the trails. The 
most timid people make the trips with 
enjoyment. Some of the finest views 
can only be obtained in this way. 

There is a laundry in the Valley. 

There is a barber shop. 

There is a postoffice, telegraph and 
express. 

There is a general store and places for 
the sale of photographs, curios and In- 
dian work. 

Treat the Indians with courtesy and 
consiaeration, if you expect similar 
treatment from them. Do not expect 
them to pose for you for nothing. They 
are asked to do it hundreds of times 



107 



every summer, and are entitled to pay- 
ment for their trouble. 

Kodak films and plates can l)e obtain- 
ed in the Valley. 

Developing and printing are done in 
the Valley. 

Take your camera. 



108 



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